Babies are messy, but they’re so cute! Find out how I’m celebrating messy milestones in this post sponsored by Clorox.

Before I became a mom, I was super averse to food mess. I didn’t even eat barbecue ribs because I didn’t want my hands to get dirty! The rare times I’d let the delicious smell of grilled meat break me down, I would eat my ribs with a fork.

Then I had kids.

I learned quickly that messes are a part of parenting. They are inevitable. At first, I chased behind my daughter trying to clean up as we went along. I’d be sweeping up cereal as she ate, or wiping her mouth after every bite. Then one day I realized I was driving myself crazy, and stopped. I embraced the mess. I took a step back and realized that I was missing out on a lot of cute moments and milestones.

Mess-stones, or the messy milestones that my children face don’t cause me stress anymore. Instead, I pull out the camera. I take some pictures and videos, and celebrate the new things that my baby is learning.

Right now, we are doing babyled feeding with Jamie. Instead of purees and baby food, he is learning to feed himself and eat what we eat. Every day, I strap him into his high chair, feed him a buffet of delicious fruits, vegetables, and grains, and let him go to town.

Let me tell you—this little boy can EAT! I mean, he really digs into his food! He does his best to eat every single bit of whatever he’s served. His favorite things to eat (and rub all over his face and hair!) are blueberries, bananas, strawberries, and oatmeal. Until you’ve cleaned up oatmeal from every crevice of a baby’s body, you haven’t truly lived!

Surprisingly, though, cleaning up after babyled weaning isn’t as difficult as you would think. I have a system in place now. I can clean up in record time to set the stage for our next meal together. The key is to clean immediately after the baby is done eating. I usually stick Jamie in his walker and am able to get our kitchen looking normal again in just a few minutes.

Even though Jamie’s food starts off in a bowl or on a plate, it typically ends up on his highchair table. Because of that, I make sure to clean his highchair thoroughly when he’s done eating. I would hate for him to get sick from the lingering bacteria of old food, so after each feeding, I wipe his table down with Clorox^® Clean-Up® Cleaner + Bleach. It’s easy to clean and disinfect in four steps: remove excess dirt, spray the surface until wet, let stand for 30 seconds, and rinse or wipe clean. It kills 99.9 percent of bacteria and viruses, so I can let Jamie make his mess without worrying that it’s going to affect him the next time he eats.

I have to say, celebrating Jamie’s mess-stones has made life a lot less stressful and a lot more fun for me. I have tons of adorable pictures of my sweet boy enjoying his newfound ability to feed himself, and entertainment every time he sits down for a meal. Plus, peace of mind for me, knowing his high chair table is clean and ready for action.

What is your favorite mess-stone (messy milestone) to remember?

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Clorox. The opinions and text are all mine.